Jay Caspian Kang wrote about a college freshman who died during a violent fraternity-hazing ritual, and the search for Asian-American identity.

I am a brother of Pi Delta Psi and have been on both ends of the Gauntlet ritual, as a pledge and a brother. In learning to accept my culture, I was able to lose the self-loathing that comes from believing that ‘‘white is right’’ and begin to love myself. I was an Asian kid growing up in small-town Ohio, with no role models that I could identify with (think of an Asian role model in the ’90s not named Bruce) and felt invisible to the world. Pi Delta Psi gave me a growing seed of belonging that is still being cultivated now, over a decade later.

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CreditIllustration by Peter Gamlen

The death of this young man was a tragic and unintentional accident, made worse by the lives being ruined in the aftermath. Those involved were not malicious men. Yes, some very poor decisions were made that day, but this ritual or hazing practice has been done hundreds of times without a disastrous outcome. Every brother of this fraternity has gone through this process, likely contributing to a false sense of safety and a sense of duty to continue it. I’m not justifying the practice, just giving some context.

I am an Asian-American. I love things Asian and non-Asian. I love this country and serve as an officer in the United States Air Force. I have committed some of the same violent, unjustifiable acts discussed. I am also a healer as an M.D. I am guilty of being Michael Deng. I am also guilty of killing Michael Deng. A. Chang, Davis, Calif., on nytimes.com

Jay Caspian Kang’s contemptuous dismissal of the world so many Americans live in, and the identity that makes their lives meaningful, makes him sound exactly like the ignorant pre-‘‘woke’’ high-schoolers the Pi Delta Psi brothers depicted themselves as, before their education. If Kang still feels ‘‘that you can be born in this country, excel in its schools and find a comfortable place in its economy and still feel no stake in the national conversation,’’ as a writer for The New York Times, I wonder how he believes it’s appropriate for him to speak for the rest of us. Claire Light, San Francisco

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CreditIllustration by Peter Gamlen

I’m an Asian-American who was adopted into a white family and grew up in the Midwest. My journey to my identity has been largely self-taught, cemented through learning my history and finding others like myself. I can so relate to Michael Deng and his frat brothers, wanting to fit in and feel that power of being in a community. Kang’s insights about the fraught nature of Asian-American identity resonated. The very label has always seemed an odd umbrella under which to group such a disparate mix of people, separated by language, culture and history. But alas, it’s what we have. Katie Hae Leo, Phoenix

In an ostensibly deliberative democracy, relentless and reflexive accusations of bad faith are profoundly destructive. If any expression of solidarity is virtue signaling, then we’re no longer arguing about the substance of any of the issues. Instead, at contest is basic humanity of anyone who doesn’t agree with your side. The only side that benefits from such dehumanizing of its opposition is the side in power. Seth Kahn, West Chester, Pa.

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CreditIllustration by Peter Gamlen

People may really ‘‘care’’ about issues that they purport to, but only in the cheapest and most passive sense of the word. If all it takes to ‘‘care’’ is to feel some sentiment about an issue, and then to pronounce that sentiment in a public forum, then how much value does ‘‘caring’’ really have? It requires such little effort — and the social gratifications are so instant — that those quick, easy, cynical dismissals seem fair, penny for penny.

Remember that pundit-driven TV news, Twitter and online comment boards are designed precisely for shallow banter — pronouncements and reactions, not discourse — so if you expect anything other than tribalism, trolls and ostentation, your expectations are out of whack and need to be calibrated. Let’s start using the right tool for the job: If you truly want a deep, nuanced conversation about the reality of climate change, then invite your Trump-supporting friend to the pub and grab a booth. If you really want to fix climate change, then start investing in, inventing or laboring on solutions. Jon Grue, New York, on nytimes.com

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